Currently, every owner needs to agree to sell their apartment before an entire block can be sold for demolition or to developers.

But just three in four owners would need to agree to sell under the proposed new laws that Fair Trading Minister Stuart Ayres' department has drafted for cabinet approval.

Mr Ayres said the proposed package of reforms he hopes to table in Parliament next month are ''vital to future-proof strata in NSW''.

''The strata reforms will focus on improving the lives of people living in strata by increasing transparency and engagement in strata complexes,'' he said.

''The reforms will help facilitate renewal and upgrade of strata facilities that are difficult and expensive to maintain.''

If adopted by Parliament, the proposals will open the way for termination of strata schemes, allowing for the sale to a developer, as an alternative to ongoing maintenance of old run-down buildings.

According to government figures, about 30 per cent of residential strata schemes in the Sydney metropolitan area were registered more than 30 years ago.

A spokeswoman for Mr Ayres said the draft bill has been put to stakeholders for consultation.

Committee for Sydney chief executive Tim Williams said the proposed changes were important for renewing older low-density unit blocks that needed to be replaced.

''We think this is a very important reform for creating new possibilities for development well connected to jobs and services in Sydney,'' he said.

But Chris Martin, a senior policy officer for the Tenants Union of NSW, said he was concerned the proposal to allow strata schemes to be extinguished with the support of 75 per cent of owners would force elderly and vulnerable owner occupiers out of their homes.

''We are worried about owner-occupiers as well as tenants in the older strata schemes - particularly older owner-occupiers who have either few or no other assets than their apartment,'' he said.

''We have a housing system that doesn't have enough affordable housing options, especially for older people. If the NSW government wants this urban renewal agenda it also needs to develop an affordable housing agenda.''

The proposals allowing for urban renewal include a provision for appointment of a strata renewal committee to oversee the development of a collective sale.

The strata reforms also include proposals to allow strata meetings to be held through teleconferencing and for votes on motions to be given through the post or by secret ballot.

Pet ownership and installing picture hooks will become easier for owners under the proposed new regulations, but owners corporations are likely to be allowed to take tougher action in response to parking offences, cigarette smoke and the unwanted installation of floor boards.

More than a quarter of the NSW population lives or works in a strata dwelling.

The Department of Fair Trading says termination of a strata scheme without the unanimous support of all apartment owners occurs in countries including Singapore, New Zealand and the United States.

Since the resignation as premier of Barry O'Farrell on Wednesday, most ministries are officially vacant, but so far there is no indication the Department of Fair Trading's proposals for strata laws will change.